Piper Sandler Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX)

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by Piper Sandler in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $180.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $165.00. Piper Sandler’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.14% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $163.43 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $123.18 and a 52 week high of $167.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $155.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $18.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after buying an additional 442,835 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after purchasing an additional 113,956 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after purchasing an additional 108,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,994,000 after purchasing an additional 104,495 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.